In other words, CNN was so hot to make sure they were first with the story, they didn't check to see if they had a story...and thus...wound up creating a story where there wasn't one.
Now, instead of admitting that this was a Journalism f-up, the Journalists of the world are locking in step behind their colleagues. They're saying that the Coast Guard should have shown greater awareness.
Josh:
CNN's Kyra Philips says that CNN went up with the story as breaking news without confirming what was happening with the Coast Guard. That looks sort of iffy in retrospect. But when you think about it, if reporters hear Coast Guard officials talking on an emergency frequency about firing on a suspicious vessel in the Potomac on the anniversary of 9/11, I think there'd be a pretty decent rationale for sounding the alarm.Dana Milbank trying to have it both ways:
On the eighth anniversary of the terrorist strikes, the incident served as an unwelcome reminder of two facts of life in the capital: Homeland-security authorities continue to bear an occasional, unnerving likeness to Keystone Kops; and the cable-news-driven, minute-by-minute news cycle has a unique ability to sow mass confusion and misinformation.
But what about CNN??
